Floating Points – Cascade

It’s worth remembering that when the name Floating Points first appeared on our radar, it was via a series of rugged, club-focussed 12s. Since then, obviously, his approach has broadened – his epic, jazz-fuelled Ensemble performances for examples, or aligning with Pharoah Sanders (and the London Symphony Orchestra) for the sublime ‘Promises’. On ‘Cascade’ however he goes back to the source – an autobiographical paean to club culture, it acts as a window of insight into his electronic imagination, while also slapping hard.

‘(Vocoder [Club Mix]’ is the perfect primer – the shuddering synths, the subtle architecture, and the heady, futuristic charge represented by those sliced-to-pieces vocals. ‘Key103’ – the title a reference to a Manchester pirate radio station – is a heads-down chugger, something that would light up the White Hotel in Salford while also pleasing the older heads.

A mere nine tracks, Floating Points allows his ideas space to breath over a luxuriant 58 minute run-time. The mid-section is particularly finely tailored – ‘Del Oro’ drops the intensity for some Ibizan light; ‘Fast Forward’ erupts into some arms aloft electronic euphoria; ‘Ocotillo’ switches once more, the Pollock-esque zig-zag digitalism coalescing into a hive of sound.

‘Afflecks Palace’ takes us back to Manchester once more, blurring the lines between those formative experiences and Floating Points’ current status. It’s not nostalgia, but there’s a palpable desire to reclaim, something equally evident on 90s era Warp homage ‘Tilt Shift’. Closing with the beatific ‘Ablaze’ – with sonic shades of John Martyn’s crepuscular ‘Small Hours’ – ‘Casade’ made lack the breathless ambition of Floating Points’ orchestral manoeuvres, but that’s not its purpose. A resetting of the dials, it transplants the producer from symphony hall to sweaty club, and that alone makes it truly vital.

8/10

Words: Robin Murray

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